News Articles, Op-eds, and Letters

If ever there was doubt about Mexican cartels' danger to our state, it was dispelled by the recent series "Drug cartels in Oregon" (published in The Oregonian　 June 23 to 27).

"Cartels and their allies control nearly every ounce of heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine flowing into the region," reported Les Zaitz. "At last count, authorities were aware of no fewer than 69 drug trafficking organizations selling drugs in the state, nearly all supplied by cartels." In 2011 and 2012, Zaitz noted, cartel-supplied heroin killed almost 300...

You can help repeal Senate Bill 833 — the new state law granting driver cards to illegal immigrants.

The best part: you can do so right from your home computer.

Since May, a group of Oregonians operating as "Protect Oregon Driver Licenses" — which I serve as a chief sponsor — has been circulating referendum petitions to put Senate Bill 833 to a statewide vote. If we collect the signatures of 58,142 registered voters this summer, a measure to overturn illegal-immigrant driver cards will appear on Oregon's November 2014 ballot.

Thousands of Oregonians already have...

The action by Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and the state Legislature on Senate Bill 833, granting some form of Oregon driver’s license to foreign nationals illegally present in the state, passed in part under the pretense that the legislation was a matter of public safety.

But the new law is disconnected from reality, considering the previous dangers illegal alien drivers have posed to Oregonians.

In an annual report filed on Jan. 1 by Tom McClellan, administrator of the Department of Motor Vehicles, he says: "Four years after implementing a legal presence requirement in...

In May, the Oregon Legislature and Gov. John Kitzhaber passed a law, Senate Bill 833, granting "driver cards" to illegal immigrants.

Oregon voters, however — right from their home computers — can help keep that law from taking effect.

A group of Oregonians operating as "Protect Oregon Driver Licenses" is working to put a referendum onto the November 2014 statewide ballot that would give voters a chance to annul the driver-card law. To do so, the group needs to collect 58,142 signatures of registered voters this summer.

Why should Oregonians sign...

Should illegal immigrants have the right to drive in Oregon? Soon, you may get the chance to vote on that question.

Recently, a group of Oregonians operating as "Protect Oregon Driver Licenses" received authorization from the secretary of state to begin collecting signatures for a referendum on Senate Bill 833, the newly passed legislation granting "driver cards" to illegal immigrants. To put a measure on Oregon's November 2014 ballot that will allow voters to approve or reject the bill, the group must collect 58,142 signatures within 90 days of the end of the Legislature's 2013...

Oregon lawmakers often take actions that benefit favored constituencies but harm the state overall. Citizens have the opportunity to overturn a glaring example of this: the recently passed state law — Senate Bill 833 — that grants "driver cards" to illegal immigrants.

A group organized as Protect Oregon Driver Licenses is working to refer SB833 to voters. If they collect the signatures of 58,142 registered voters by Oct. 6, the state’s November 2014 ballot will include a measure enabling Oregonians to annul the law.

In response to the May 5 editorial regarding SB 833 and driver cards, why does our Legislature continue to pass laws that reward bad behavior by providing driver cards to people who are in our state illegally?

I wonder if they know the difference between legal and illegal.

Does the driver card law provide a pathway to citizenship or voting rights? What is the point of passing laws at all if people don’t obey them?

In some cases, there are virtually no consequences for failure to obey the laws.

I don’t recall any of my state representatives contacting me...

All Oregonians who believe in the rule of law should be outraged by the recent passage of Senate Bill 833, providing a 4-year Oregon Driver Privilege Card for illegal aliens. Oregon Democratic Senators and Representatives voted unanimously in favor. Governor Kitzhaber signed SB833 into law at a May Day Rally on the Capitol steps.

Representatives Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer) and Sal Esquivel (R-Medford), and Oregonians for Immigration Reform Vice-President Richard LaMountain have filed a Referendum.

If Protect Oregon Driver Licenses successfully collects 58,142 valid signatures...

If Senate Bill 833 becomes law, Oregon will join a few other states in granting driver's licenses to people not legally in our country. Debate on this bill, which passed the state Senate on Tuesday and now moves to the House, is understandably emotional and personal for those seeking the licenses. The same applies to folks who've witnessed what happens when driving privileges are extended to the wrong people....

Testimony from the Oregon Association of Nurseries, a key backer of SB833, talks about public safety and how loosening rules for obtaining a license would reduce the number...

The Legislature should reject Senate Bill 833 that would grant some form of Oregon driver license to foreign nationals illegally in the state under the pretense of the legislation being an issue of public safety.

In an annual report filed Jan. 1 by DMV administrator Tom McClellan — a report required since passage of Senate Bill 1080 in 2008 that required legal presence to obtain a driver’s license — he imparts, “Four years after implementing a legal presence requirement in Oregon, changes in driver licensing requirements have not had a major impact on the rate of unlicensed and...